Sunday, October 30, 2011

Even though America is on the brink of a double dip recession with no foreseeable end in sight, the very brave duo of New York hardcore legend Jeff Terranova and his partner Beckey Salg have recently opened Long Beach Vegan Eatery, a restaurant which specializes in all manner of vegan comfort food (as Jeff himself told me, "people still gotta eat, even in a recession"). If you live in the Southern California area or if you ever find yourself there, be sure to stop in and get your grub on. They are open every day from 11:00 AM until 8:00 PM.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Discuss your new film, Wyatt Earp and the Holy Grail: The Tale of the Three Gates.

EJ: Wyatt Earp and the Holy Grail: The Tale of the Three Gates (WEATHG: TTOTTG) is a look at humankind's relationship to the elements which surround them. Oftentimes, these elements encroach on them in a way that is not normal. WEATHG: TTOTTG attempts to explore this as well as study how a man who is lost ultimately finds himself. It's a big story, which is why there are two more films coming, which will bring the total length of the series to 3 hours.

JN: Yes, yes. However, it's also a study in circular lineage. As I'm sure you can tell after viewing the film, at least 1/2 of the story is noir rooted but there is also an ode as to what makes a human being, in fact, a human being. Wyatt is lost, true, but the emphasis for the viewer shouldn't be the typical tonal dissection of "who?", "what?", "when?", "where?", "why?" and "how?" but instead, it should take a more "if?", "or?", "but?" and "will?" direction.

I've watched the film twice now and while I'm obviously not in a position to actually review it (and I wouldn't even know where to begin if I tried to review it), one of the things that I really liked about the film was the beautiful visuals. What specific effects in the editing of the film did you use?

JN: I can’t really speak for the equipment that was used; the cameras, the film, the dollies, the cranes, the boom mics or the editing system. That’s not really what I am about as a film maker and, for that matter, a man. What I will say is not a lot of people have the mental capacity to make movies. That is why only a select few of us ever soar. The only advice I can give to young, aspiring film makers is follow your dreams.

EJ: The film was shot on a KODAK Zi8 camera as well as on multiple camera phones. It was processed using the effects of FINAL CUT X and then edited in FINAL CUT 7, which both Joe and myself were more comfortable with. We consulted Walter Murch's legendary book In the Blink of An Eye so we wouldn't be constrained.

Discuss the film's sound editing. What specific effects did you use for that?

EJ: The goal was to create a mood, an atmosphere, and I think we have achieved that. We wanted people to not only get in touch with this character but also with themselves. In this way, they could see how they were constrained. However, it is eventually these constraints which allow us to be free.

JN: For me, the most important derivative of the whole scope is the tonal alchemy. Evan has really come into his own as a true soundman in the essence of the craft. To me, Joe Nelson, Wyatt is Evan's greatest work when it comes to the dialect of rations and pitch layering. It grabs you from the get go sonically and one hour later, you’re thirsting for more. Audiophillicly speaking, of course.

In what ways does the first and original draft of the screenplay differ from the completed film?

EJ: I will just say this - Joe's original draft was more linear. Wyatt was called Shaw, Arthur was called Max and the script actually took place in present day Las Vegas. I told Joe that to truly tell this story, he would have to abandon the constraints of narrative, plot and other such devices and just allow the story to breathe. Since he was playing Wyatt, he gladly complied.

JN: Originally, the film was called Wyatt Earp and the Holy Grail – Perditions Window. However, the main character was, indeed, named Shaw, and Wyatt was more of an underlying idea throughout the film. When you view the film, you can see why we changed it to The Three Gates, but you will still feel "Perditions Window" subtly shifting within the context of the body. However, Evan is 100% correct when saying that the story followed more of a linear arc, too much actually. His recommendation to take a more obtuse path is what got us to where we are today. Once we went off the grid, so to speak, it was desperately necessary for the Shaw character to be cut from the story completely and what I refer to as the "Wyatt Idea" to become the major focus of the journey.

Why exactly is the character of The Outlaw an outlaw? Or is he, in fact, an outlaw?

EJ: The Outlaw is a man who rules a realm known as the sound. He is trained in the art of audio and he treats it that way. Wyatt has obviously done something to offend that sensibility and that is how he ends up 3 dimensions from the rest of us.

JN: To side step a little, I am currently working on a feature length 3 minute cartoon short film based 100% on The Outlaw’s life circa 18 years of age. Can you imagine an 18 year old Outlaw, carefree and loose upon the world? Well, the world he currently occupies, that is? Or does he? HA HA HA... you’ll actually have to watch the film to get what I mean by that little inside joke but boy is it true and, dare I say, relevant for this age that we live in socially, politically and spiritually. Mankind’s peripherales are what hold him back, you realize. The Outlaw knows this. Does Wyatt? Okay okay, I am giving away too much of the film. Next question please?

How did Isaac Golub (singer/frontman for A Chorus Of Disapproval and A18/Amendment 18) become involved in the film?

EJ: Isaac, not many people know, is classically trained in the classics. He doesn't talk about it much but he and I are friends, so he told me about this. I told him that I wanted to stretch his persona. In X CHORUS X, he was one thing and in A18, he was something else but he was always Isaac. In Wyatt, he plays a man who knows no boundaries within himself.

JN: I was originally against having Isaac involved but after I saw his screen tests, well, let’s just say not only was I hooked, I became a fan of the man. I became a fan of his words. I became a fan of his charisma. I even became a student on the compository make up to the very grassroots of Isaac’s soul. In fact, Evan and I were so moved by his audition that we both felt his screen tests were just too strong as is. Therefore, his scenes in the film are the screen tests themselves, as is, uncut and verbatim.

What direction, if any, did you give to Jay Cee, who wrote and composed the original music score for the film?

JN: Evan knows Jay Cee better than I do. This was actually my first encounter with the man. Skeptical? Yes. Due diligence? Forever, and a day.

EJ: Jay has scored a bunch of my other films. Basically, I give him a copy of the film without the audio and he does a bunch of scratch recordings. Then he comes to the studio (a.k.a. THE LAB) and we go from there. Music is his department and he actually has final say in regards to music cues.

How much of an influence, if any, was the work of actor/writer/director Vincent Gallo on the film?

EJ: I am sure it is in there somewhere. Joe is a big Terrence Malick fan and I have always admired Stan Brakhage. We merged those two worlds.

JN: We actually met, Evan and I that is, at the Orange County Terrence Malick Fans Of Stan Brakhage Films Fan Club, back in 1992. We became immediate pen pals, and from those letters grew a friendship, and from that friendship sprouted Wyatt. It was almost as if God's hand led us to be.

How much of a challenge to understand and/or appreciate will this film be for fans of each of your previous music and film works?

JN: This is the first real work of art that I have been a part of. I am 41 years old now and for 10 years, I have worked feverishly on nothing but this film. I’ve spent every last penny I have on it and if somebody handed me more pennies, I would gladly, and without prejudice or hesitation, give them to Wyatt.

EJ: I think people will see it and be able to appreciate it for what it is. I like being able to bounce between writing movies for people like Kevin Sorbo to making very personal films like ORANGE COUNTY HARDCORE SCENESTER to making a movie like WEATHG: TTOTTG, which is made for the pure pleasure of getting together with creative people and making a movie. Alex Cox would be proud.

What can you tell us about the upcoming Wyatt Earp and the Holy Grail films?

EJ: Well, we are going to go bigger production value wise and we are currently locking down locations. However, before we even start thinking about that, Jacobs/Nelson will be making a horror film that is heavy inspired by APOCALYPSE NOW titled NIGHT OF THE JAKE 2000. It is going to be a sequel to a short film that Joe made in 1989 titled NIGHT OF THE JAKE.

JN: I don't want to give too much away for what is coming in the next Wyatt installment. However, as you will tell after completing the first undertaking, the space is wide open and the air is ablaze.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I apologize as its taken me some time to do this update but our friend and dedicated follower Jason has started a podcast. I told him I was going to have it posted last week but hey better late than never. Check out it....good mix of new and older hardcore.Click here to check out the site and download the first episodeWe Gotta Know Podcast

Monday, October 17, 2011

This is what we could salvage of the documentary "EDGE DAY 2000: The Last Show Of In My Eyes." Hope you enjoy it! Here are some words from In My Eyes' guitarist, Anthony Pappalardo:

For the entire existence of In My Eyes there were always three words used to describe us that made us cringe: Youth Crew Revival. Most 'zines that were covering Snapcase and Chamberlain would mention we were "great at being a Youth Crew Revival band" and it drove me fucking insane. The Youth Crew was Youth of Today's crew, not a style of music and certainly not relevant to a band formed in 1997. We all loved Youth of Today but we weren't setting out to revive anything. That phrase always made me think of a bunch of kids in varsity jackets standing over a drawing of the Step Forwards record dude with wires hooked up to him like Weird Science. Suddenly he rises out of the pages of Boiling Point and He's Alive... the Youth Crew had been revived! Let's all pose in the street a la We're Not In This Alone and bleach our hair!

In My Eyes accomplished infinitely less than many of the bands that were our peers in Boston. From Bane and American Nightmare to Converge, Isis, Jejune and Piebald; we'd toured less, played less and never committed to the band full time but it didn't mean it wasn't our lives or that we weren't happy with what we had left behind. We weren't able to be a "full time band" and that made things fun. We had an outlet to pour ourselves into every weekend and it made even the smallest show special.

We didn't revive the Youth Crew, we lived our crew. Some of us listened to Juvenile, while some listened to Stereolab. We could be found wasting our money on sneakers, jackets, unhealthy vegetarian food, gambling or video games. We combed the streets of Boston looking for fun, records and girls… girls were the hardest to come by. In My Eyes was our way of avoiding the September to June College Malaise that defines Boston.

Initially we were a handful of kids crammed into the first floor of a poorly insulated Mission Hill apartment with a Subway table in the vinyl floored kitchen. By the end of the band our friends inhabited about 43% of the neighborhood, formed twenty thousand bands and record labels and we all found time to hang out on each other's porches and stoops no matter what was going on.

In My Eyes was convinced to play a final show, as the band had run it's course. We were exhausted, broke, and all facing different directions while still being best friends. Matt Galle, Tim Mailloux and Ray Lemonie aka DHU were responsible for most of the all ages punk and hardcore shows in Boston at the time and they wouldn't let us go out with a whimper. They booked an all ages, $5.00 show in Haverhill, MA, where Ten Yard Fight had once played as well as 108, about 7 years prior. Haverhill was about ten miles from where I grew up. I spent my teen years there in coffee shops, grinding and sliding the curbs in the town's parking garage. It was part of the Merrimack Valley, an area responsible for Cave-In, Piebald, Converge, Ten Yard Fight and other notable bands. It was nice to end where I started.

The show wasn't going to take place in Boston so we could have an all ages show with no barriers, without giving a cent to club owners that hated us the other 364 days of the calendar year.

DHU asked me who I'd wanted on the bill; I remember asking if American Nightmare could play... they didn't and I'm not sure why but Wes sang the ending of Through The Motions which is part of this documentary. In viewing the video again I realized how much this song aspired to be a Moondog song though it's mid-paced tempo was modeled after Inside Out.

I'm not sure why my memory is so sharp for some things and so vague for others but I'll run down the last time In My Eyes played together:

• A few weeks prior we played a last show in Riverside County in California at the Showcase Theater. I liberated a pair of gold Air Max 97s from Niketown as an homage to Civ's obnoxious creepers at the last GB shows.

• As In My Eyes was fading out, a lot of us noticed the focus on NYHC folk-lore and generally being "hard" in hardcore 2000. We purposely chose to cover A Time We'll Remember and Bottled Violence, two songs without mosh parts that are as energetic as any songs recorded to keep an emphasis on stage dives and sing-alongs... things we saw as the core of the band.

• Friends from all over the world came, a lot of our friends hadn't been to a show in years or ever, some of them liked Limp Bizkit and others, House music. It was rad to have such a mix of personalities and backgrounds there in one place.

• The show was $5.00; I'm not sure how many people paid but I know for a fact that no one I knew was asked for even a dollar. Clevo mentions there being 500+ kids there, I'm sure at least 200 were on the "guest list." I have no idea how many kids were actually there but it felt like at least 501.

• The palm tree background was pretty calming, and later, Jeff and I joked about starting a new band, "Veggie Burger in Paradise", a Leisure Core band inspired by the backdrop.

• We all knew Sweet Pete was tight with Porcell but didn't believe he'd really show up to sing Straight Edge Revenge. It kind of blew me away how kids didn't give him a little room to do his thing, I always thought he was pretty incredible on stage and would have liked to see him have a little more space.

• There was one In My Eyes song we all thought sucked so we didn't play it but I'm not sure 11 years later what it was, maybe it was Overlooked.

• Dudes ripping down the ceiling cost us $400.00, which is 80 paid customers. I might start a Kickstarter to recoup the costs retroactively.

• There were a lot of humans there not wearing shirts... I'm pretty sure 11 years later they'd keep their "Hanes Beefy Tees" on.

• None of us could even get near our amps to look at our tuners due to the amount of Edgemin on stage, we gave up and tuned by ear. Al Quint once complained that we were always out of tune because we "jumped around so much", I'm surprised how in-tune we actually sounded.

As for the actual documentary you're viewing now, it was supposed to be this multi-angle, multi-camera, semi-mega production packed with ephemera, interviews and insight. Instead, it sat somewhere for years until a short sample tape and an invoice arrived in my mail box years later. There was a lot of confusion about what really happened with the movie, I wanted to work with the editor and really make this different but instead the film crew disappeared and we all forgot about this until Larry Ransom found this 30 minute cut.

I wish I didn't swing my arms around as much when I talked but I'm happy with this slice of In My Eyes and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Thank you to DHU for booking the show, everyone who came out as well as Shark Attack, The Killing Flame, Mouthpiece, Fastbreak, Bane and Ten Yard Fight who played for next to nothing to be a part of the day.

I never went to my senior prom and spent 15 minutes at my college graduation because In My Eyes had a show booked at a shed in a New Jersey backyard with Ensign which I played with a 100+ degree fever but I had this day no matter how bad my memories of it actually is.

Despite this show being an endpoint for In My Eyes, I see many of the people on that stage weekly, monthly and at weddings and other celebrations to this day. We share tweets, texts, emails, Facebook wars and other social media connections and we all agree it was a great time that continues into our (gasp) adult lives.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Here we have a video of newly signed Mercury Records' recording artists The Gaslight Anthem covering the former Revelation Records' recording artists Farside song "I Hope You're Unhappy". Now, major label bands covering songs by indie label bands (even hardcore bands) is, of course, nothing new. However, I felt that this particular case warranted a post due to the fact that Farside are from my beloved hometown of Orange County, California and singer/guitarist Popeye has been a good friend to my brother and me for 20 years this year. Oh yeah, almost forgot the best part - it's another middle finger to the "nobody cares about '90s hardcore" naysayers. Yes they do, assholes.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

My dudes in Atlanta's Deathbed just recorded 2 new songs for a split with True Life. You can check them out here and you can order their 7 inch here. If you dig bands like 108 and Harvest, chances are you're probably going to like this.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Formed in 1995 and quitting in 2006, Stampin' Ground was one of the biggest UK metalcore bands, not to mention one of the best metalcore bands to come out of the UK period, or even Europe as a whole IMHO. Their self-titled MCD on We Bite Records from 1996 compiles the first 2 7"s of this band, the 'Dawn Of Night' 7" on Days Of Fury Records and the 'Starved' 7" on Too Damn Hype Records. Both these 7"s were recorded at the same recording session in late 1995, and the 7"s were released in 1996. Great stuff. On these releases, they were still more on the hardcore side of things, the metal influences took over more and more on their later releases. After these 7"s they did a number of releases, all of which are great. Their best release in my opinion was the 'Carved From Empty Wounds' album from 2000, that one is absolutely vicious, and comes highly recommended, tho really all of their output does. Anyways, as I also own both 7"s, I've included scans of the 7"s as well with the download. Check out this band if you haven't done so already.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I'd say we are in a holding pattern, everyone is busy with other stuff. I'd say we are on pause.

How would you personally rate the recent Outspoken shows with singer/frontman Wes Sisk? Not just performance-wise but reaction-wise as well?

We all had a blast. From everything I heard, people enjoyed it. Anytime a venue has a barricade it inhibits crowd reaction, but we were still able to enjoy ourselves. Wes is a heart throb.

A18 has played a few shows here and there in the past few years. Are there any plans for that band to record again? Why or why not?

No, We're just past that point. We broke up in '06 and played a few benefit shows and just small get-togethers over the years. We played a few weeks ago with Hellfire Trigger for a going away party for Nicholas (our guitarist and sometimes bassist) and we all decided that was pretty much it for the A18.

Is there any possibility of a Freewill reunion at some point? Why or why not?

None of us have ever talked about it (or at least none of them mentioned it to me). It would be a lot of fun but we were a VERY obscure band. I miss those guys tremendously. When I was in the band, I didn't appreciate it like I think I should have. I look back on the recording we did for Wishingwell Records as a huge deal for us. There's not too much more you need to do at age 18 than record an album for your favorite record label. It was amazing then. I wouldn't be against a reunion but I just don't think anyone would be all that interested.

What is the current status of New Age Records?

Gearing up to shut our doors in 2012. Repressing the Trial 7" (working on that now) and clearing out the webstore in the next few months.

There have been lots and lots of hardcore reunion shows throughout the '00s and in the past two years. What have been some of your favorites and why?

Anyone that gets together for friends, fun or a cause is all good in my book. No For An Answer was the tops. Chorus always, Headfirst, ICE and Mean Season in 2005 was incredible.

It's a company that I formed this year along with a partner and we are running live events in the U.S. and in Mexico. We are set to debut in January 2012 in Los Angeles. I have been in the business in one way or another for a very long time. I am working now with venues, wrestlers, merchandising, advertising. promotions, etc. and am hoping soon to be stepping into the world of TV and pay per view.

How will this new wrestling company differ from previous wrestling companies that you've been involved with?

That's a good one. Hopefully, this one can keep it's head above water. I'm hoping that by closely managing the whole thing, we can make the right decisions and stay on corse.

Generally speaking, how has the wrestling industry fared during the economic recession in America?

It's down but I think a bigger factor is that there are more and more forms of live entertainment every year and in California, with all the options that people have, we really have to create and maintain something interesting and exciting.

After she turns 18, how would you feel about your daughter pursuing a career in some capacity in the wrestling industry if she wanted to?

Hahaha. I'd encourage her to be on the production side but if it turns out that she wanted to actually train to be a wrestler, I guess I'd have to support her there as well.